His Sheep Hear His Voice

 John 10:1-5 ESV

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

 

How God Speaks

 

In OT times God spoke through the prophets. In the NT times he speaks to us through his Son (Heb 1:1-2). Jesus spoke to people in person when on the earth, but he sent his Holy Spirit to live in us as Christ now in us speaking to us through his Spirit. So, we can now hear God via his Spirit.

 

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Jn 14:25-26

 

Now we walk according to and by the Spirit (Rom 8:1-17). Now we have the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ living within us speaking truth to our hearts (1 Co 2:16). In Bible times Jesus spoke to people in very personal ways. He still speaks to us in very personal ways today, via his Spirit.

 

When people teach that we can't hear the Holy Spirit and that God only speaks through his written word, they deny the Spirit's working in our individual hearts and minds and they reduce the Scriptures to a dead book, not one where the word of God is alive and active and speaking today.

 

Just from a pure logical perspective, why would God speak to people all throughout biblical history in very personal ways (not general ways only as applied to all) and then cease doing that after Jesus went back to heaven? Why would he give us the Holy Spirit to teach us if we can't hear him?

 

The Holy Spirit lives within Christ's true followers and he does speak to us in ways only for us individually just like he always did because he has individual things for us to do that are not for everyone else (1 Co 12; Rom 12), like my calling to write devotions daily. Not everyone is called to that.

 

We Hear His Voice

 

So, how do we hear the Spirit? It is through gentle whispers, through the Word, yes (primarily), but through sermons or through songs/hymns (remember we are to speak to one another in psalms, hymns), or through each other via something one of us said and through nature (Rom 1), etc.

 

A Scripture verse will just jump out at us with a personal message to us and we know it is God talking, or we will hear words to a song and they speak to us personally, and he speaks through dreams, as parables, or through real life experiences, as parables, and we hear him in our spirits.

 

What Justin Peters and others are promoting is a Spiritless faith that is based solely in words on a page but not in the living breathing word of God which is still speaking to us in our life circumstances today. Thus, they mock all people who say God speaks to them, which is quenching the Spirit.

 

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev 2-3). It doesn't say, "what the Bible says," but what the Spirit says. For the Spirit speaks to us today in 2020 about our world and church today, and we need to be listening to hear what he is saying, because it is important.

 

The Holy Spirit can show us who is false and who is true, what and who we are to believe (today) and who we are not to believe, just like in Bible times. He can show us the times in which we live, and warn us of danger ahead, etc. So, we need to hear him, not quench him because someone told us to.

 

Doubts and Fears

 

Someone warned me that I should not go against so and so who is teaching that we can’t hear the Spirit speaking to us. I felt the comment was intended to instill some type of fear in me of that man, as though I should shrink back out of fear of what that man might say about me. The Lord gave me this response:

 

“I am more concerned with going against the Spirit of God than I am concerned about going against any human. I am not afraid of man. What can he do to me? I am to fear God and him alone.”

 

And this is biblical! We are not to cease to speak what God gives us to speak, if truly it is coming from God, and if it agrees with Scripture, out of fear of what man might do to us. We are to keep on speaking and not be silent! Amen!

 

We are not to put our trust in humans. We must trust solely in God. So, don't let a human be God's voice to you. Study the Scriptures for yourselves (in context) and listen to hear God speak to your heart. Don't let man tell you that you can't hear God speaking to you, to your life and world today.

 

Think about this. Who wants to silence the Spirit's voice? Who wants to keep us from hearing God speaking to our life’s circumstances and to our world and to the church today? Who wants to keep us from serving in the ways God uniquely designed for us? And, who wants to keep us in the dark about things presently going on in our world? Yes, Satan!

 

So, if a human is telling you the Spirit of God cannot speak to you and that he can't call you to specific ministries or direct you to where to live or work, or to what you should say, he is not speaking for God. God doesn't change. He spoke directly to Abraham and Moses, etc., and he speaks to us, too.

 

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." Jn 14:25-26

 

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Co 2:14 ESV

 

"Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thess 5:19-22  

 

Broken and Contrite  

 

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

 

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

 

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

 

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me;

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

 

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